Better Here Then There
by AutomailGrell
Summary: Nowaki was deployed as a combat medic in the U.S army, because of his studying abroad in the U.S. Nowaki comes home after a little over 2 years. However, when Nowaki comes back from his deployment he isn't exactly himself. No really is after all that, right?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! So, as you can see I have a new story up and I'm really excited for it. I know I haven't updated Curfew in a long time but I'm trying to think of other stuff to write about for that story plus I was too excited for this story. Know if you figure what is going on with Nowaki, it is not meant to be offensive in ANY way and if you don't know what I'm talking about, I will explain later because I don't want to spoil anything. Okay so please let me know what you think and if I should continue with this story! Enjoy!**

* * *

Two years. Two long years Hiroki had to wait for Nowaki. Sure they had talked on the phone with each other as much as possible but with Nowaki's job over in the U.S it wasn't easy. Both of them cherished every second they could talk though.

But now Hiroki was waiting at the airport, waiting for Nowaki to walk through the gate from his plane.

A lady opened the gateway door and people started filing out from it. Around Hiroki were a lot of families standing around with banners welcoming home their soldiers. People were cheering and crying tears of joy, from seeing their loved ones after years of being apart.

Then, finally, the moment Hiroki had been waiting from sense the day Nowaki left. The six foot, black haired, blue eyed man came walking through the gate with his camouflage uniform on and his light brown combat boots.

The moment that Nowaki and Hiroki locked eyes, Nowaki dropped his duffle bag that was slung over his shoulder as they ran to each other.

Hiroki ran up and wrapped his arms around Nowaki's neck almost knocking him over on the ground. Nowaki wrapped his arms around Hiroki's back and they both squeezed each other until they couldn't breathe.

Both of them never wanted to let go ever again from being apart for so long. Both had tears of joy streaming down their faces.

After actually letting go, they shared a long, passionate kiss. One that was long overdue.

Nowaki pulled back and hugged Hiroki again, "I missed you so, so, so much. You can't even believe how much I missed you."

Hiroki buried his face in the crook of Nowaki's neck, "I can believe it. I missed you just as much."

Nowaki let go but kept his arm draped across Hiroki's shoulders as he picked up his duffle bag and hung it around his other shoulder. "So, what have you been doing for two years?" Nowaki leaned over and kissed Hiroki on the temple.

"Holding out as best as I could. I was about to lose it. Two years was too long. I really don't want you to get deployed again."

"I don't want to either but I don't know what will happen… Where are we going anyway?"

Hiroki lead Nowaki toward the exit of the airport, "I have a hotel room near here because I booked a flight for Japan for later tomorrow. And I know you probably don't want to get on another plane but I also thought that you'd want to get home as soon as possible."

"That's fine. I do want to get home soon. But I'll probably just sleep the rest of day and on the plane."

"That's fine. I have essays to grade anyway or I might fall asleep too, I didn't sleep last night at all. Beside you need your rest."

They flagged down a taxi driving by, put Nowaki's bag in the trunk and then drove over to the hotel.

They got up to their room and right when the door closed, Nowaki pushed Hiroki down on the bed and was on top of him in an instant, kissing him.

Hiroki broke away from the kiss, gasping for air, "I thought you needed to sleep?"

"Yeah, I do. However, I haven't touched you in two years… so I need this way more right now."

Hiroki didn't fight it or resist it at all because, truth be told, he needed it too.

* * *

Hiroki woke up an hour and a half before their flight back home. He gently shook Nowaki and kissed him on the head. "Hey. Wake up. We have half an hour to get back to the airport."

Nowaki turned over, not wanting to get up. "Hmm, no… let's sleep a little longer."

"No, we can't. We will have 15 hours to sleep on the plane. Come on, get up and I'll make coffee. I also have some clothes for you in my suitcase." Hiroki got out of bed, search through his bag and threw Nowaki's clothes on the bed.

Eventually, Nowaki dragged himself out of bed and they headed downstairs with their bags to get a cab to the airport. Nowaki was so tired he almost fell asleep on the cab ride, multiple times.

Once on the plane Nowaki immediately fell asleep in his window seat while Hiroki had his table out, grading essays.

Hiroki leaned back, taking a slight break from grading but when he looked over at Nowaki, he notice that Nowaki was "tossing" around in his chair and he also had a slight scared expression on his face.

"_Is he having a nightmare?"_

Hiroki shook Nowaki a little and whispered, "Nowaki? Nowaki wake up."

Nowaki sat up quickly, slightly breathing hard. He looked over at Hiroki.

"Are you okay?" Hiroki looked at him with a concerned look.

"… Yeah I'm fine… I just have to run to the bathroom real fast."

Hiroki moved out of the way so Nowaki could get out.

Nowaki got into the small bathroom shall and looked in the mirror. He took a deep breath. He took a moment to calm himself down. _"… It's okay. Everything is fine…" _He turned on the sink and splashed a little water in his face. Once he dried his face he unlocked the door and walked back to his seat.

Nowaki plopped down in his seat and quietly stared out the window.

"Hey. You sure you're okay?"

Nowaki looked back at Hiroki and gave him a small peck on the lips, "Yeah. I'm fine… Let's watch a movie."

Hiroki sighed, "Okay." He put his essays back in his brief case and got some headphones out. Nowaki pulled up the arm rest between them and then pulled Hiroki in close.

Soon when the movie started both Hiroki and Nowaki soon fell asleep, cuddling but again Nowaki soon woke up from another nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm glad people are enjoying this story, it makes me really happy. Also I forgot to mention this in the first chapter notes but this story was inspired by a story by ****Lucicelo called Welcome Home. Okay, so I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! Thanks! :3**

* * *

The moment that they walked through the door, Nowaki dropped him bag and fell onto the sofa. "Ugh! I've missed home so much!" Nowaki sighed.

"Well, home has missed you too." Hiroki walked in and dropped his small bag next Nowaki's and headed to the kitchen to get some water.

They didn't get home until late because of the 15 hours time difference between Japan and the U.S. However, sense both of they had slept on the plane they weren't too tired but eventually would fall asleep soon.

Nowaki got up from the sofa and head to the kitchen as well, but stopped when he saw some flowers and small gifts on the table. "What are these?"

"Oh, they're flowers and little presents from Tsumori and some of the nurses at the hospital. They're for you. For making it home in one piece." Hiroki smiled.

"That's sweet. I'll need to stop by later and say thank you to everyone." Nowaki picked up the card sitting by the vase of flowers. He opened it to see that multiple people at the hospital who his was friends with had signed it. Wrote little messages like 'Welcome Home' and 'Glad you're back home'.

Nowaki smiled as he read through all the messages on the card, and the card was filled with messages. Nowaki's eyes started to well up with tears a little.

"Are you crying?" Hiroki walked over to Nowaki and placed his hand on Nowaki's shoulder.

"Well I missed everyone. Especially you." Nowaki leaned down and gave Hiroki a kiss. "Now, where's your present?"

"Well," Hiroki walked back over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, "I have some food from that restaurant that we like to go to. Plus, I let you keep him up all night yesterday so that's part of your present to." Hiroki set down the boxes of food on the table.

"That's right… and I hope you are prepared for another all-nighter." Nowaki pulled Hiroki in close and started kissing his neck.

"Anything you want… but not before we eat this food."

* * *

Early the next morning, Nowaki was having trouble sleeping so he just lay down, lightly stroking Hiroki's arm, who was resting his head on Nowaki's chest.

It was still dark out and the birds with chirping in the distance. Nowaki stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought about what he had done the past two years.

He remembered the training that he had got through. He remembered the first time he had to treat a gunshot wound in his troop. He remembered the first time he had lost one of the soldiers in his troop, no matter how hard he tried to save him. He remembered the way he felt when the man slipped away and that there was nothing he could do.

Nowaki stopped stroking Hiroki's arm and notice that something wasn't right. His heart rate was increasing even though he was completely still and he was having a little trouble breathing.

As he tried to get his breathing back under control and his heart rate back down, Hiroki woke up, "Hey… You okay?"

Nowaki sat up and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I-I don't know… It's just hard to breathe." Nowaki scooted to end of the bed and rested his head in his hands as he tried to control his breathing.

Hiroki moved to the end of the bed with Nowaki and started rubbed his back softly. "Okay. You're kinda scaring me."

"I think… it might be a panic attack…" He looked up and covered his mouth with shaky hands.

"What do you want me to do…?"

"Uh… can you just get me some water, please?"

"Okay," Hiroki got up from the bed and headed into the kitchen while Nowaki stayed on the bed. He came back with a full glass of water, handed it to Nowaki and sat back down on the bed. "Do you know why you're having a panic attack?"

"No. I've never had one before," Nowaki took a small sip of water.

After a few minutes Hiroki stood up from the bed, "Let's go sit on the balcony and get some fresh air, okay?"

Nowaki looked up and slowly nodded his head, "Okay." He got up from the bed and followed Hiroki to the door in the living room that led to the balcony outside.

They sat together outside for about 15 minutes before Nowaki was able to finally calm down.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I think I finally calmed down." Nowaki took a deep breath and rested his head back.

"Well, do you want to go back to bed and try to sleep for a few more hours?" Hiroki stood up and grabbed Nowaki's glass.

"Uh… You can if you want. I think I'm going to stay out here for a little while longer."

"Are you sure-?"

"I'm fine!" Nowaki snapped causing Hiroki to slightly jump back. "… I'm sorry; I just kind of want to be by myself right now."

"Okay, well if you need me I'll be inside." Hiroki slowly made his way back to the door but then looked back at Nowaki, as if he was going to say something. He saw that Nowaki was just looking up and the sky with just a kind of sad, almost lonely expression. Then, he headed inside without a word.

Nowaki finally come back inside after close to an hour being alone. He shut the door and headed straight for the sofa to sit down.

"Hey, where do you want your passports?" Hiroki poked his head through the doorway of the bedroom.

"Uh… its fine I'll do it. You didn't have to unpack my bag for me." Nowaki started to get up but was stopped by Hiroki.

"No, it's fine. I'm almost done anyway, but where do want your passports?"

"You can just put them in the top drawer of the nightstand with the Japanese passport on top of my U.S passport. Thank you." Nowaki sat back down.

"Oh, crap!"

"What?" Nowaki looked over to see Hiroki searching through his brief case.

"I think I left something in my office at the school. I'll have to run by tonight and grab it."

"Well, if you need it now you should just go get it. I was planning to stop by the hospital to say hi to everyone anyway."

"Okay, well let's eat first then you can go over to the hospital and I will stop by the school."


End file.
